Optus reveals it grossly underestimated the number of failed emergency calls during the November outage; cost-of-living top of the agenda as Labor caucus members meet, and in sport, the Socceroos finish top of their Asian Cup group.
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TRANSCRIPT
- Optus reveals it grossly underestimated the number of failed emergency calls during the November outage.
- Cost-of-living top of the agenda as Labor caucus members meet
- The Socceroos finish top of their Asian Cup group.
Optus has revealed thousands more people were affected by failed emergency calls during the national outage on November 8.
Last year, Optus told a Senate inquiry and the regulator that 228 customers failed to get through to the triple-zero number.
In a statement, the telco now says it has found an additional 2,468 customers were affected - that's more than ten times greater than the initial number given.
Optus says the extra customers who could not call triple-zero were discovered during a review of its processes.
That review also found that for the additional affected customers it had not complied with regulations introduced in 2019 requiring telcos to conduct welfare checks on people who tried and failed to call emergency services during network outages.
Optus Interim CEO Michael Venter has issued an apology, saying the company is "committed to addressing all learnings from the outage".
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Israel has again rejected a deal with Hamas, with authorities saying they refuse to leave the group in power in Gaza.
This comes amid reports of a two-month pause in fighting with a series of measures proposed by Israel to Hamas, in exchange for a release of hostages.
Government spokesman Eylon Levy has also said Israel will not agree to a deal with Hamas that would leave captives remaining in the Gaza Strip.
"The goals of this war, as laid out by the war cabinet after the October 7th massacre and handed down to the IDF, remain unchanged: the destruction of Hamas' governing and military capabilities in the Gaza Strip and the return of all the hostages. There will be no ceasefire that leaves the hostages in Gaza and Hamas in power. Beyond that, we have nothing to elaborate."
Patients continue to pour into one of Gaza's last remaining hospitals, and humanitarian organisations warn of a famine risk in the city of Khan Younis.
Medical staff say Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis is on the brink of collapse as Gaza health officials say the death toll has risen to at least 25,490 civilians killed since the start of the conflict.
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The first signs of Tropical Cyclone Kirrily are forecast for today as north Queensland braces for impact.
Winds of 120 kilometres per hour are expected for the Whitsunday Islands and coastal areas between Townsville and St Lawrence as the cyclone heads toward the coast.
The state is facing its third natural disaster and second cyclone in a month, with Kirrily now expected to make landfall as a Category 2 system on Thursday night or early on Friday morning.
Queensland Fire and Emergency Services says it has already requested interstate assistance to deal with the response to the major flooding that is forecast to follow.
Queensland police commissioner Katarina Carroll says with the long weekend coming up, it is expected a lot of people will be on the roads.
She has urged residents to be ready for destructive winds and severe flash flooding.
"During the disaster season already we lost seven lives in such a short timeframe. It was within two days of the last couple of events that we had. So we don't want to see that again. Please stay connected. We know that already the roads, the environment is completely saturated. So the bureau has been very clear about life-threatening flash flooding. We expect that. Please listen to authorities and make sure that we're all safe throughout this event."
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Labor caucus members are preparing to hold an emergency meeting today in Canberra to discuss new cost-of-living relief measures for households.
The meeting will also look to outline the focus of the economic agenda in 2024.
These Sydney residents say there are plenty of things to consider.
Woman: "Last time there was help when the kids were starting school. But this time there isn't much help around. And probably (I would wish) for more job opportunities.”
Woman: “I have a degree in city planning, so I am obviously going to say affordable housing is the most important thing that someone needs.”
Woman: “It takes a long time to save up for anything. I think they should look at that. But also they should look at the fact that supermarkets and shops are really taking advantage.”
Man: “If the tax cuts come in that would be helpful. But when that gets enforced, I don't know."
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In football, the Socceroos have finished top of their Asian Cup group despite slipping to a 1-1 draw against Uzbekistan.
Australia were already guaranteed to reach the round of 16 but needed a win or draw at Doha's Al Janoub Stadium to finish top of group B.
Martin Boyle's penalty kick in the opening minute of first-half injury time, after a dubious V-A-R handball call against Uzbekistan, gave Australia the lead, with the Uzbeks equalising in the 78th minute, ending a run of six clean sheets for the Socceroos.
Attacker Riley McGree, who impressed in flashes but failed to score, has told Network 10 the Socceroos are starting to create the chances required to break down defences at the tournament.
"Naturally I try to be kind of creative anyway, and I've said in a number of interviews I'd like to score more and assist more. It's all well and good getting into positions but I need to be a little bit more clinical. Potentially all of us out there tonight could have been more clinical, but we take the positives and move forward."
